Brush cutters describe exploitative work conditions by Hydro-Québec subcontractors

Some workers from Africa who were hired to cut vegetation under Hydro-Québec power lines are sounding the alarm about unsafe working conditions, cramped housing and transportation issues. 

Radio-Canada spoke with 15 brush cutters who worked for two Hydro-Québec subcontractors this summer, finding the companies failed to meet basic standards for health, safety, transportation and accommodation.

The companies —  LDomo inc. and Gestion sylvicole — are based in Brossard and Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, two suburbs off the island of Montreal.

Workers described being forced to sleep two per bed and having to travel on foot for hours through Quebec's forests instead of being provided with transportation to get to job sites. 

A video from July obtained by Radio-Canada shows an LDomo worker wading through chest-deep water in Quebec's Côte-Nord region, dressed in his work clothes and carrying his equipment over his shoulder. The man was on his way to work beneath a transmission line. 

Workers said they were unable to contact a helicopter pilot, paid for by Hydro-Québec, to take them to their destination, because the satellite phone supplied by LDomo had run out of battery. 

The men said they risked crossing the river for fear of not being paid for the rest of the day. Brush cutters are paid by the hectare cleared. Their travels — on foot and sometimes lasting hours — are unpaid. 

"This is completely unacceptable. We want to be clear about this," said Hydro-Québec spokesperson Cendrix Bouchard in response to Radio-Canada's findings. 

The investigation comes at a time when the utility has made a commitment to its customers to increase vegetation control. In its 2035 action plan, it promises that this will help reduce outages by 35 per cent over the next seven to 10 years.

"Suppliers are expected to comply with the code of conduct, respect human rights and uphold health and safety standards for the people they work with," Bouchard said.

In 2024, Hydro-Québec awarded contracts worth $7 million and $433,000 to LDomo inc. and Gestion sylvicole, respectively, to clear brush under the major high-voltage lines that cross the province.

Most of the workers, as well as the owners of LDomo inc. and Gestion sylvicole, are from African countries. Some are asylum seekers with precarious status in Canada.

Radio-Canada learned that, in the spring, LDomo brush cutters had to walk for hours in the forest to and from Hydro-Québec job sites because they weren't provided proper transportation means, such as all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).

Following a meeting between LDomo and Hydro-Québec on June 13, the public utility said the situation represented an "incredible waste of time [and] energy for workers," in addition to "increased risks of injury, fatigue, heatstroke, falls and more."